Football preview: Texas A&M at Auburn

Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin talks to his players as they come off the field during the second quarter against UCLA on Sept. 3, 2016, in College Station.

Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin talks to his players as they come off the field during the second quarter against UCLA on Sept. 3, 2016, in College Station.

Photo: Sam Craft /Associated Press

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COLLEGE STATION, TX - NOVEMBER 07: Kerryon Johnson #21 of the Auburn Tigers steps out of bounds before crossing ther goal line as Nick Harvey #8 of the Texas A&M Aggies pushes him out in the first half at Kyle Field on November 7, 2015 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) less

COLLEGE STATION, TX - NOVEMBER 07: Kerryon Johnson #21 of the Auburn Tigers steps out of bounds before crossing ther goal line as Nick Harvey #8 of the Texas A&M Aggies pushes him out in the first half at Kyle ... more

Photo: Bob Levey, Stringer / Getty Images

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COLLEGE STATION, TX - NOVEMBER 07: Taylor Bertolet #24 of the Texas A&M Aggies celebrates after a 50 yard field goal in the first half as Caden Smith #47 and Jonathan Jones #3 of the Auburn Tigers look on at Kyle Field on November 7, 2015 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) less

COLLEGE STATION, TX - NOVEMBER 07: Taylor Bertolet #24 of the Texas A&M Aggies celebrates after a 50 yard field goal in the first half as Caden Smith #47 and Jonathan Jones #3 of the Auburn Tigers look on at ... more

Photo: Bob Levey, Stringer / Getty Images

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COLLEGE STATION, TX - NOVEMBER 07: Kyler Murray #1 of the Texas A&M Aggies avoids the tackle attempt by Nick Ruffin #19 of the Auburn Tigers in the first half at Kyle Field on November 7, 2015 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) less

COLLEGE STATION, TX - NOVEMBER 07: Kyler Murray #1 of the Texas A&M Aggies avoids the tackle attempt by Nick Ruffin #19 of the Auburn Tigers in the first half at Kyle Field on November 7, 2015 in College ... more

Photo: Bob Levey, Stringer / Getty Images

Football preview: Texas A&M at Auburn

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AUBURN, Ala. — The last time Texas A&M visited this neck of far east Alabama, then-Aggies defensive end Julien Obioha left comparing Auburn to Las Vegas. In a roundabout way.

“What happens on the bottom of the pile,” Obioha happily said after recovering a fumble that helped the underdog Aggies seal a road victory, “stays on the bottom of the pile.”

Obioha had paraphrased the old line about, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” — but these days fans from both sides could alter the catchphrase to, “What happens in this series, stays a mystery.”

The No. 17 Aggies (2-0) and Tigers (1-1) meet for a fifth time as SEC West opponents at 6 p.m. Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium, with oddsmakers predicting this game will go like the previous four have not: with the home team prevailing.

A&M has had its fair share of merriment and misery in its four years in the SEC, but none of its other league series can match its annual reunion with Auburn for general hijinks and surprises. For instance, each team has won in the other’s backyard the last four games.

The Aggies can’t say that about any of their other five West opponents, but it’s not just the outcome that’s unpredicted, it’s how they’ve arrived at that outcome. Take Obioha’s fumble recovery two years ago, with the Aggies grasping a 41-38 lead.

The third-ranked Tigers fumbled twice late in the game, including on a poor exchange near the goal line, when Obioha emerged from a chaotic pile clutching the football, a huge upset preserved.

By then the Tigers and their fans were used to the Aggies startling them in Jordan-Hare. Two years before that, in 2012, A&M and then-freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel hung the most points by an opponent on Auburn in nearly a century, 63-21.

That astonishing margin of victory, only two seasons removed from Auburn winning a national title, hastened coach Gene Chizik’s exit.

“It’s embarrassing,” then-Tigers defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder said after that game, his eyes wide. “It’s embarrassing for me, it’s embarrassing for Gene, it’s embarrassing for the Auburn people. I can’t ever remember ever being part of something like tonight.”

After that season Chizik was replaced by Gus Malzahn, whose first Auburn squad played in its own national championship game, a loss to Florida State following the 2013 regular season. A couple of months earlier in October, the Tigers escaped College Station with a 45-41 victory.

Manziel had the Aggies on the march for a go-ahead touchdown late, when Tigers linebacker Kris Frost dragged him down from behind near the Auburn 20-yard line on third-and-long. It’s a controversial play that still has some Aggies yelling, “Horse collar!” Alas for No. 7 A&M, no flag was thrown and No. 24 Auburn kept on with its unlikely run to the title game.

Two years later in College Station, Auburn entered Kyle Field with its worst team under Malzahn, but the Tigers would be pressed to convince the Aggies of as much. Auburn manhandled A&M from start to finish, in rushing for 311 yards and defeating the favored home team 26-10.

This year? Auburn is favored by a few points while only A&M is ranked, but gamblers and everyone else have learned to treat this annual surprise with a wary eye.

“This is another week to show who we are,” A&M fifth-year coach Kevin Sumlin said. “But it won’t define us for the rest of the season. We’ve learned that the last couple of years.”

More Information

No. 17 Texas A&M (2-0) at Auburn (1-1)

When, where: 6 p.m. Saturday, Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Ala.

TV/Radio: ESPN, KTSA-AM 550 & FM 107.1

Series: A&M leads 4-2.

Storyline: After successful starts to their respective head-coaching careers at A&M and Auburn, Kevin Sumlin and Gus Malzahn are coaching for their jobs this season. The winner on Saturday earns a nod of approval for at least another week from those who matter in such matters, the loser will feel the heat intensify heading into yet another tough SEC contest (Arkansas for A&M, LSU for Auburn).

A&M can win if: The Aggies' young offensive line, particularly on the inside, holds its own against one of the league's top defensive lines led by end Carl Lawson.

Auburn can win if: The Tigers did what they did last season to the Aggies in a 26-10 Auburn victory: Use Malzahn's misdirection on offense against a run defense with still much to prove.